Auxiliary calked sole for shoes



July 18, 1939 AUXILIARY CALKED SOLE FOR SHOES Filed Aug. 19, 1958 INVENTOR J. OPYT 7 2,166,317

ATTORNEY Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

Soles of this kind will answer the requirement of men who have to move about on slippery or icy grounds. They will be just as useful to a lumberjack working in the woods in the winter as to a city man for use on icy streets or pavements. In addition, the soles may be used by persons in all sorts of sport pursuits, like, golf, baseball and other games in the open where a firm footing by a person engaged in said games is desirable and necessary for safety. The soles are light, easy to make and, what is more important, they are constructed in such a manner that they may be readily attached to the regular leather soles of shoes without any extended manipulation and where they will seat securely until removed. I shall now describe my said improved soles with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a shoe with my improved sole affixed thereto.

Fig. 2 shows a plan View of my improved sole as applied to a shoe, with a part of the outer surface removed to disclose its inner construction.

Fig. 3 shows a sectional view of the sole on line 3--3 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 shows a detail of one of the gripping members by which my improved sole is attached to the shoe.

Similar numerals refer to throughout the several views.

In general, my auxiliary sole, indicated by numeral II, has the outline of the ordinary sole II) of the shoe, except that it is somewhat smaller. It is made of elastic rubber so that if necessary it may be stretched. Imbedded in said rubber is a Web l2 made of steel or some other metal. It extends substantially the whole length of the sole, being disposed in the center thereof. The inner end of said strip or web l2 terminates in a cross-member l4, branching off to one side of the main stem I2 While a corresponding webbing I ia, detached from the main body of said webbing, is disposed on the other side. Midway between the inner and outer end of the strip I2, another cross-member l3 branches from the main stem l2. At the opposite side of member I3 is another cross-member l3a. This also is detached from the main body of the aforesaid web. The Web has a two-fold purpose. It not only serves to add rigidity and strength to my auxiliary sole but it serves also as the basis for cleats that may be attached tosaid Web and which are intended to stand out above the outer surface of the sole. The cleats l8 may be integrally formed as shown in the annexed drawing. This may be done by similar parts V-shaped tongues struck out from the body of the Web and bent at right angle to the surface thereof. It is obvious that cleats may be separately formed and screwed in into the body of the webbing or attached thereto in some other manner. This particularly might be done when replaceable cleats should be desirable. The outward ends of the cross-members of the web and also the webbing at the tip of the shoe terminate in hooks l5, l6 and I! respectively, said hooks being intended to grip the edge of the sole of the shoe to which my auxiliary sole is attached. To provide a better grip, the member at the tip of my sole is V-shaped, the open arms ending in hooks.

In order to apply my said auxiliary sole to a shoe, the gripping hooks are slipped over the tip and over one side of the leather shoe sole, whereupon the sole is stretched by hand until the hooks on the other side are in a position to slip over the opposite side of the sole. The body of my auxiliary sole being elastic, it will draw the hooks back and keep them tightly clasped over the edge of the leather sole of the shoe. In order to prevent my auxiliary sole from slipping from the leather sole, the gripping hooks II, at the base of the sole, that is, at the wider part thereof, are disposed at an angle so that they may provide an anchorage for said auxiliary sole. In addition thereto, also to take advantage of the elasticity of the rubber in maintaining a firm grip on the leather sole, the main stem of the webbing l2 may be severed at point I9.

I make no claim that my auxiliary sole will fit any sort of a shoe, as there is a limit to the safe elasticity of the rubber and as the rubber body may be stretched only to a certain point. It would be desirable, therefore, to have different sizes of my auxiliary sole to fit different ranges of sizes of shoes, that is, it may be necessary to have different sizes of the auxiliary sole to fit two or three immediately consecutive sizes of shoes.

Some other provisions and improvements may be made in the construction of the sole without departing from the main inventive idea herein disclosed by me. What I, therefore, claim is:

1. A detachable auxiliary sole for shoes, comprising a body made of elastic rubber, a metal webbing imbedded therein consisting of a longitudinal main stem and disconnected cross-members, the ends of said webbing terminating in external hooks adapted to grip the edge of the shoe sole, and cleats mounted on said webbing and, projecting above the surface of the rubber body.

integrally formed hooks adapted to grip the edge of the shoe sole, said Webbing being provided with cleats integrally struck from said webbing and projecting above the surface of said rubber body.

JOHN OPYT. 

